UC San Diego Health Announces Interim CEO

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Patty Maysent, MPH, MBA, has been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer of UC San Diego Health, bringing to the role more than 25 years of exceptional executive experience in hospital leadership and health services management. As interim CEO, Maysent will move UC San Diego Health, the region’s only academic health system, forward in its efforts to redefine health care delivery and ensure continued success with its tripartite mission of delivering outstanding patient care, groundbreaking research and inspired teaching.

“We are excited that Patty Maysent has accepted the dynamic role as interim CEO of UC San Diego Health,” said David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the School of Medicine at UC San Diego. “Her solid record of performance has helped elevate UC San Diego Health’s levels of innovation, accountability and efficiency. She has also accelerated efforts to create strategic affiliations with other key health care providers in California.”

“I am honored to serve as interim CEO and to continue my focus on implementing our strategic plan,” said Maysent. “UC San Diego Health has achieved many critical goals in research, education and patient care, but in this era of accelerated changes in health care delivery across the country, there is still a lot of work to do to position UC San Diego Health for decades to come.”

Maysent, who has previously served as a hospital CEO, added that she understands the commitment necessary to successfully collaborate with staff and faculty to continue the mission of providing the highest quality of care and experience to every patient who enters the doors at UC San Diego Health.

Maysent joined UC San Diego Health in 2012 as Chief Of Staff to Paul Viviano, CEO, and in 2013 became Chief Strategy Officer. In these capacities, Maysent has been leading the organization’s growth efforts through new programs and partnerships with local health systems and community physicians.

Under her leadership, UC San Diego Health collaborated with Scripps Health to provide proton therapy services as a cancer treatment option and also to co-sponsor a hospice fellowship training program. In addition, she led the development of a joint venture with home health services company, AccentCare, to provide patients a comprehensive, continuum of care after discharge.  

Maysent has been instrumental in improving the delivery of care not just in San Diego County, but in Southern California. She recently facilitated a strategic partnership between UC San Diego Health and El Centro Regional Medical Center. UC San Diego Health will provide important operational and clinical support and access to specialized medical and surgical services to enhance high quality care to patients in the Imperial Valley.

Maysent has also developed the UC San Diego Health Care Network (UCSDHCN), a collective of regional health care providers, including UC San Diego Health and faculty physicians, community hospitals, medical groups and physicians based in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties. Members of UCSDHCN become part of a clinical integration network that collaborates on developing shared systems, infrastructure, care pathways and quality initiatives to provide high-value health care to patients, employers and health plans.

Her extensive experience in community partnerships also resulted in UC San Diego Health partnering with high profile organizations, such as the San Diego Chargers and United States Olympic Committee. These collaborative efforts have allowed UC San Diego Health to expand services within the community and provide medical care to some of the world’s greatest athletes.  

Maysent is also credited with achieving financial change by creating a culture of operational accountability, excellence and efficiency at UC San Diego Health. As interim CEO, she will continue to drive forward-thinking results and position UC San Diego Health for the future – clinically, academically and financially.  

Prior to joining UC San Diego Health, Maysent served in several executive roles, such as CEO of St. Jude Medical Center. During this time, she built the St. Jude Heritage Health Foundation, a first of its kind physician/hospital integrated delivery system. She also served as a consultant for University of Southern California’s Keck Medical Center and Alliance Healthcare Services, a leading provider of advanced outpatient diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology services.

Maysent holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in human biology from Stanford University, and master’s degrees in business administration and public health from University of California, Los Angeles. She serves on the board and executive committee of the Boys and Girls Club of San Dieguito. An advocate of healthy living and exercise, she is an avid swimmer, paddler and surfer.

Maysent replaces Viviano, who led UC San Diego Health as CEO for the past three years. Viviano is joining the administration of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  

A national search for a permanent CEO at UC San Diego Health is underway.

About UC San Diego Health
UC San Diego Health is the region’s only academic health system and is dedicated to delivering outstanding patient care through commitment to the community, groundbreaking research and inspired teaching. It ranked #1 in San Diego for the fifth consecutive year in 2015 in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Hospitals” issue. UC San Diego Health is composed of UC San Diego Medical Center in Hillcrest and Thornton Hospital, Moores Cancer Center, Shiley Eye Institute, Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center and Jacobs Medical Center (opening 2016), all in La Jolla, as well as other primary and specialty practices located throughout Southern California. For more information, visit health.ucsd.edu